How to Answer the "Tell Us About Yourself" Question in Interviews

Replying to “tell me about yourself” at a job interview should be fun for you and the person interviewing you. And while there are a lot of templates out there that say you should start it with something like “I am marketing manager with 15 years of experience leading teams” that’s what you don’t want to do.

Instead, use story science rules that hook the interviewer and have them remember you for days.

Watch this video for step-by-step advice on how to use stories in your introduction. I give a sample + what you need to ask yourself to make one.

Why do interviewers request that you reply to Tell Me About Yourself.

Interviewers start with this question because it brings everyone up to speed. Often recruiters and hiring people schedule several interviews for the same day. And while they intended to interview you, they don’t have your resume memorized. This question allows you to bring them up to speed about:

• who you are professionally
• what you’re great at
• what you can do for them

The biggest issue with this question is that everyone googles “how do I answer tell me about yourself?” and then uses the same template. The good news is that you know what other people are saying. And, you can do better.

Tell Me About Yourself has five parts, but the first few lines are the most important.

What is memorable about this sample tell me about yourself response?

Nothing is memorable. It sounds like a resume and everyone else is doing it this way. You want to use some story science rules to make it better. Telling a story instead of facts is going to help the interviewer to relate and trust you while giving them something to remember you by. If this interviewee were to change his opening to a story, he stands a better chance of getting hired.

How to build the opening lines of Tell Me About Yourself

Use the following guide to create an original tell me about yourself.

Think about the best place to start the story and what details you can add in. Watch this video to see a sample.

What do you do next to build an incredible Tell Me About Yourself?

Once you have built a great hook, the rest of the response is easy. Dive into your super skills, back it up with a story, let them know why you are available or are thinking about leaving your current job, and then do a mini-recap.

If you want to be guided on how to do that exactly and if:

• You go to interviews, but don’t get job offers even though you are fully qualified
• You’ve heard that using stories is a must at interviews, but you need help selecting which stories and how to tell them
• You’ve read and attended all the free interview webinars online and still don’t like how you are in interviews. You’re ready to invest in learning about stories and interviews from an interview and story expert.
• You want to leave a great impression at the interview. And for them to know what they’re getting. They should be excited about you
• You want a program where you take the time to develop a skill, not a quick fix or hack. You know that stories take work and effort and are ready to do the work

Buy the Nail the Interview course to build a memorable Tell Me About Yourself and learn how to develop answers using stories for other interview questions.